Case Study

Deforestation in South West Côte d’Ivoire

In 2017, Vivid Economics and RSAC were commissioned by the UK Space Agency to assist the Ivorian government and other key stakeholders to some of the country’s needs in tackling deforestation. To do so, the consortium created IMAGES, a web-based platform that provides fortnightly alerts of forest loss alongside a wealth of land-use planning data. Forest loss is detected through fortnightly analysis of satellite data.

This report sets out the latest forest loss trends and pattern figures for South West Côte d’Ivoire across administrative regions and protected areas. Analysis of spatial data shows that since 2016, 35,000 hectares of primary forest were lost in the South West region of Côte d’Ivoire. More than 70% of recorded deforestation took place in rural areas. They have left a landscape of fragmented forests at higher risk of further deforestation. The authorities should put in place strong protection and enforcement resources to the last intact islands of rainforest in the region. The remaining dense islands of primary tropical forest can now be found in a handful of protected areas such as Cavally, Diassoko Sud, Port Gauthier and Tai. The Cavally and Tai, where deforestation rates are low, show that protection of the forests can be effective